AS Coursework - MEDIA STUDIES

1. Convention Genre Convention How will this inform your own planning?
Masthead
The same magazine usesdifferentstyles,designsandcolours.
Theyare overlappedmanytimesaswell andare creative.
I wouldn’t followthe same andchange the designof the masthead
regularly,Iwantto maintainasignature mastheadwhichcouldbe
identifiedimmediately.Iwouldprefertoselectamore creative
mastheadwhere the it would have connotationsof rebellionor
boldnessthroughitsdefinition.
Colours There are a lotof coloursusedbutthe main coloursusedare red,
blackand white.Manycolours,dark and brightare usedtogether.
I wouldstickto thispatternbecause the mixture of these darkand
brightcoloursreallystickoutand can easilycatchthe attentionof
the readers. I will use the house style of black(boldness),red
(passion) andblue (confidence)astheirconnotationsare all
expressive of characteristicsstereotypically associatedwiththe
genre rock.
Fonts The fontsof the mastheadusedare constanteventhoughthe colours
usedare different.The fontsusedforthe coverlinesare simple andin
capital.
I thinkmaintainingasignature fontisnecessaryforidentification.
So I woulduse somethingfunand more expressive of rockelements
specificallythansomethingsimple. Ex-MAYBE
THISOR THIS. Iwouldkeepthe entire mastheadincapitals.
Images-
 Shottype?
 Mise en scene?
Almostall shotsare eitherheadonor highangle (close upsor mid
shots).Costumestendtovarydependingonwhetherthe artist is
beingportrayed asrelatable(casual-everydayclothes) orasan
inspiration/rolemodel(formal).
I wouldstickto thisstyle of photography (directmode of address)
as it isverydirectand formsa sort of conversationwiththe reader.I
will alsouse a highangle shotto emphasiseonhowmyfeatured
artistis upcomingoremerging. These lightingeffectsattract

2. (Whatis inthe shot)
 Lighting The lightingisalwaysfrontlitortop lit.These indicate spirituality,
openness,agelessnessandblandness.
youngeraudience butthe musicisforall ageshence evenolder
people wouldstill be able torelate tothe magazine.The coverwill
alsobe able toallowpersonal interpretationbecauseof the use of
frontlight. My artistwill wearcasual clothestobe more relatable to
the readers.
Sell lines The sell linesare majorlyinthe Leftthird.Thisisso that the more
attractive articlescanbe seenimmediatelywhilebeingsold Ina store.
Theyare writtenincapital andhave the same font.
I wouldfollowthosasitisnecessarytomaintainan orderfor itto
still lookneat/clearandnotrandom.The majorityof sell lineswill
still be inthe leftthirdas thisisa marketingstrategy.
Model The cover page modelsare a mixture of menandwomen.Theymostly
consistof bandsor a membersymbolisingthatband.
I woulddothe same and maintainthe focuson the face of the
band.
Clothing The men or womenneitherare sexualized.Theywearclothesof their
personal style orthose thatsymbolise theirstyle of rock.
I thinkthisisa goodideabecause the readercanunderstandthe
musicianormusicianson a more personal orintimate level through
personal style.Theymightevenfeel closertothese popularstars. I
will alsonotconformto the popularconventionof sexualising
featuredartistsbecause Iwantthe focusto be onthe artist’smusic
and storyrather thansexual appeal.
Copy(topicof content) The contentmostlygivesinsightintothe livesof these popular
musicians.Theymighttalkaboutthe newreleasesordebate
surroundingmanysongsor the band.Most are abouttheirrecent
publicappearancesorrumoursaboutthe band(the featuredband).
There are alsoarticlesonotherbandson similarissues.
I thinkI mightstickmore to the musicand differentaspectsof it
rather thanthe band's personal situations.Thoughthere will
definitelybe afairshare of gossiparticlesonthese bandspurely or
amusement. The detailedandfeatured(double page)article will be
of a recountof an interviewwiththe bandabouttheirsuccessstory
and struggle tothe top. It wouldbe appealingtoreadersastheycan
feel closertothe artistsand itcouldserve as an inspiration.

3. DesignandLayout Most layoutsare slightymessy (crowded)andthere isalotof over
lappinginvolved.Thereisalsoahousestyle maintained.The basicidea
isto give an impressionof excitmentandunorganisationwhile atthe
same time beingneatandreaderfriendly.Eitherthe masthead
overlapsthe picture orvisaversain a majorityof magazines.
Whenmakingmyown magazine,Iwouldtryto
Depicta similarmoodandsettingbecause it
Alsosimbolisesrockmusic.
Contentspage column
structure
There'salwaysone large picture of the feature article andthenone to
three smallerpicturesof otherpotentiallyattractive articles.The
contentsare writtenina small fonton a
small areaof the page.The contentscan
occupy onlyone page.
One change I mightmake is withthe fontsused.The fontswill be
differentforthe mainarticle andfor the restof the articles
respectively. Iwill alsomaintainthe focusonthe featuredbandby
onlyusingpicturesof themratherthan addingotherpicturesfor
alternative attractive articles.
How manyarticles? A magazine cancontainupto 30-40 articlesor differenttypes
(gossip,news,newreleases,etc).These articlesdifferalotinsize.
I wouldprobablysticktoa maximum of 30 articlesof similarsizes.
There wouldbe 10 of 100-200 words,15 of 200-400, 4 of around
500 andone feature article.

4. Feature story These are alwayson a particularpopularbandor one particular
member.Theyare mostlytheirbiographyor onan on going
controversyrelatedtothem.
In mymagazine I woulddothe same because articleslike these
allowthe readerstogainpersonal insightintothe livesof these
popularmusicians. Myfeaturedarticle wouldbe onthe struggles
that the band hadto face andconqueron theirwayto success.This
can serve as an inspirationtothe readers.